Machine for collecting rubbish and other refuse



Feb. 17, 1970 v e. A. L. LUNDGREN 3,495,376

MACHINE FOR COLLECTING RUBBISH AND OTHER REFUSE Filed Nov. 29, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BYA Luna/ gren- 1970 5. A. LU'INDGREN 3,495,376

MACHINE FOR COLLECTING RUBBISH AND OTHER REFUSE Filed Nov. 29, 1966 Y 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2 37 3a 27 2g 29 29a 7 m3 104 34 H6. 5

- INVENTOR. G. ALL Una/gran United States Patent 3,495,376 MACHINE FORCOLLECTING RUBBISH AND OTHER REFUSE Gunnar Arne Leonard Lundgren, Solna,Sweden, assignor to Komprimator AB, Vallentuna, Sweden, a corporation ofSweden Filed Nov. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 597,814 Int. Cl. B6511 1/24, 67/12;133% /26 US. Cl. 53124 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A refusecompressing machine having a plurality of refuse-containing alignedcompartments and a compressing device movable over these compartmentsand having a plate which can be pressed downwardly into each compartmentto compress the refuse therein.

This invention relates to a machine intended mainly for collectingrubbish and other refuse.

The main object of the invention is to provide for hygienic,space-saving and easily operable collection of the very large quantitiesof rubbish and refuse left in warehouses, offices and storage premises.Rooms and premises of this kind are usually not provided with rubbishchutes and the handling of the rubbish is thus very troublesome, aslarge spaces are required. Besides, refuse in the form of large packagesas found especially in warehouses cannot be passed through a chute evenif there is any provided, but must be stored for subsequent transport inspecial rubbish lorries.

A further object of the invention is, therefore, to provide anautomatically working machine which is not stationary but can be movedto any place offering sufficient space and which can receive the rubbishin separate containers and is provided with means for compressing thecontent of every container in order to reduce the volume of the rubbishin a very advantageous way.

According to the invention this problem has been solved by providing amachine comprising a structure frame with uprights between which anumber of at least upwardly open containers for rubbish etc. arearranged in a linear row, and means for repeated compression of thecontent of each container until the said content has reached apredetermined level in the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description of an embodiment of the invention, reference beingmade therein to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the machine according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a more diagrammatic front view of the same machine, howeverwith its compressing device and its driving mechanism shown in aninitial or end position and with some details eliminated for betterclarity,

FIG. 3 is an end view of the machine shown in FIG. 2, however withoutthe mechanical means,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the machine according to FIG. 2, howeverwithout the mechanical means.

The machine shown in the drawings consists of a number of U-girders 10which extend parallel to each other with their open side facing anunderlying base, which may be a floor of a storage or cellar room, ayard or any place that offers sufficient space and is suitable for amachine of this kind.

The U-girders 10 are interconnected by cross-beams .11, which areprovided with adjusting screws 12' for adjustment of the machine tovariously slopin floor or ground conditions. The two outermost U-girders10 also serves as attachment for uprights 12, which are arranged inpairs at some distance from each other in the longitudinal 3,495,376Patented Feb. 17, 1970 direction of the machine. The two extremeuprights 12 are provided with a number of spaces 15. Arranged in pairsbetween the uprights 12 are upwardly open containers, which aregenerally designated by the numeral 13. Depending on space conditionsthe containers 13 can be arranged in a linear or a curved row.Theoretically, the number of the containers can vary from two to anyeven number. Each container 13 consists of a bottom portion and sidewalls, two transverse wall portions 14 being conical except for thewalls of the two extreme containers.

Each one of the containers 13 is adapted to accommodate a paper orplastic bag (not shown) in which the rubbish is dropped, and the conicalshape of the wall por tions 14 serves to facilitate the subsequentremoval of the filled bags. This will be described below together withthe functioning of the machine.

To allow removal of a filled rubbish ba from a container .13, eachcontainer is provided with a detachable front wall 16 with a handle 17.During operation of the machine the front walls 16 are locked at theirbottom by means of a flange 18 behind which the lower edge of this wallis placed, and at their top by means of a loop 20 swingable about anaxle 19.

The rear side of the machine is covered to a great extent by aprotection shield 21, portions 22 of which are covering the end sides ofthe machine to a corresponding height.

The uprights 12 carry at their upper ends horizontal and parallelsupporting beams 23 extending at a distance from each other outside theend shields 22. The beams 23, which may consist of angle iron, areinterconnected at each end by a cross bar 24, which also serves as anend stop for a driving mechanism 27. Between said supporting beams 23 isa carriage 26 provided with rollers 25 and carrying the drivin mechanism27, which is movable in the horizontal direction by the action of apower source (not shown). The carriage 26 also serves as an attachmentfor a downwardly directed mechanism 40 intended for compression of therubbish in the containers 13.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings an air compressor (not shown) isused as a power source. The driving mechanism 27 mounted on the carriage26 consists in this embodiment of an air cylinder 28 and a piston rod 29clamped between end plates 29a. The compressing device 40 consists of anair cylinder 30 with a piston rod. The cylinder 30 is enclosed in ajacket 31 the end plate 32 of which is shaped as a press plate that isdimensioned so as to suit the work it has to perform.

In operation the elements 27 and 40 are interconnected in the mannerappearing from the following description of the working principle of themachine.

The rubbish, refuse or other material to be compressed is placedmanually in the bags (not shown) provided in the containers 13. Acollecting tray 34 hinged on an axle 33 covers each pair of containers13 and prevents, together with the rear protective shield 21, therubbish from dropping unintentionally outside the machine frame. Whenall containers are filled with non-compressed rubbish, the machine isstarted manually by means of a switch (not shown). At the moment ofstarting the mechanisms 27 and 40 are in one of the end positions, i.e.above one of the extreme containers in the row.

When the initial pulse has been given, the compressing device, i.e. thecylinder 30 and its piston rod will begin the work cycle. At that timethe driving mechanism 27 is held stationary by a pin 101 which engages ahole in one of the supporting beams 23. The piston connected to thepiston rod of the cylinder 30 is moved downwardly. The press plate,which is detachably connected to the piston rod and the jacket 31 andcovers the major part of the container opening, now compresses therubbish in the bag of the extreme container 13 at a predeterminedpressure that depends mainly upon the size of the cylinder. Havingaccomplish-ed the compression of the rubbish in the extreme container13, the cylinder 30 returns to the position shown in FIG. 2, andsimultaneously the driving mechanism 27 on the carriage 26 begins itswork cycle. Initially with the pin 101 still engaging the beam 23, thepiston rod 29 is moved a predetermined distance that corresponds to thedistance between the centers or" two adjacent containers. When thepiston rod 29 has occupied this position, a pin 102 is moved to theposition shown by dotted lines in FIG. 2 and the pin 101 is retracted,while the cylinder 28 on the carriage 26 follows. Since the mechanism 40is likewise secured to the carriage 26, this mechanism will also follow,and when the cylinder 28 has accomplished its stroke, the compressingdevice 40 will commence the working procedure as above described. Thepin 101 is moved out again and the next working cycle of the device 40is carried out. The pins 101 and 102 are parts of piston rods connectedto the pistons of compressed air cylinders 103 and 104.

This cycle is repeated until the devices 27 and 40 have reached theopposite end of the machine. The machine now stops the working means ofimpulse means and the containers 13 can be filled with rubbish again,before the work cycle described above is repeated, only this time in theopposite direction. This course of filling and compression is repeateduntil the bags in the containers 13 are tilled to a certain level withcompressed rubbish. It will be noted that rubbish can be placed in thecontainers downstream of the devices 27 and 40 while these devices aremoving along the machine. Then the bags are removed without difficultyfrom the containers 13 by swinging up the collecting tray 34 and lookingit in its upper position (FIGS. 1 and 2) by means of a loop 35, whichrotates about an axle 36. The front walls 16 are removed and the filledbags are taken out and replaced by empty ones. The filled bags are nowclosed and can be transported on a suitable lorry. In this way hygienichandling is ensured.

It is obvious that other driving means, by way of example, electric orhydraulic means can be used instead of the pneumatic ones, and thus itis not necessary to describe in detail the valves known per secontrolling the operation of the cylinders 28, 30, 103, and 104.However, in order to indicate the pneumatic operation, a watereliminator is designated at 37 and an oil lubricating device at 38,while the pipe 39 indicates a connection to a suitably piaced powersource, in this case a compressor.

I claim:

1. A machine for collecting and compressing rubbish and other refuse,said machine comprising a frame having uprights, a plurality of upwardlyopen rubbish receiving containers located between said uprights,horizontal supporting beams mounted upon said uprights, a carriagemovable upon said beams, a reciprocating device carried by said carriagefor compressing rubbish located in each container, and a drivingmechanism carried by said carriage and operatively connected with saidcompressing device to move automaticaliy and stepwise from a positiondirectly above one container to a position directly above an adjacentcontainer and to carry out the reciprocatory compressing operation aftereach such stepwise movement, and wherein said driving mechanismcomprises a cylinder carried by said carriage, a pressure actuatedpiston said cylinder and a piston rod connected with said piston, andwherein said compressing device comprises another cylinder connectedwith the first-mentioned cylinder, another piston in thesecond-mentioned cylinder, another piston rod connected with thesecondmentioned piston and a rubbish-compressing press plate carried bysaid other piston rod; and wherein said frame comprises U-shaped andT-shaped beams, wherein each of said containers comprises a detachablefront wall and wherein said driving mechanism moves said compressingdevice stepwise from one end position above one end container to anotherend position above the opposite end container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 214,828 4/ 1879 Marable i00--205X 975,844 11/1910 Egbert -226 X 2,984,957 5/1961 Lundgren 100225 X3,204,506 9/1965 Reinhold 100-226 X 3,229,618 1/ 1966 OConnor.

FOREIGN PATENTS 919,852 2/1963 Great Britain.

1,028,860 5/ 1966 Great Britain.

WAYNE A. MORSE, 11s., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

